A Case Like That Is Surely Hard To Find
by Fiyeraaron
Summary: He could honestly say that he had never seen anything like it, and he'd dealt with enough problem students to last a lifetime.


He hadn't seen anything like it in twenty years of teaching.

Sure, there were always the problem students; teenagers who didn't listen in class, who never handed their homework in and disrupted the rest of the class. He was used to dealing with that.

But Valjean had honestly never encountered anything like those two.

They were both very smart, grade A students who were always on time for lesson. They always did their homework, never had any phoney excuses. If it wasn't for that one little thing, they would have been perfect students.

Except there _was_ that one little thing.

They clashed. A lot. And considering they had been dating for almost two years now, it's surprising how much they argued yet _didn't break up_.

"Sorry, have you even read Pride and Prejudice?"

Éponine Thenardier- very passionate about Jane Austen, head of the drama club, with impeccable fashion taste.

"Of course I've read the book we were assigned to read, I'm not as tardy as you are, Éponine."

Gabriel Enjolras- goes by his surname, leader of the social action group Les Amis, headed to law school so the rumours say.

"I didn't need to read the book," her eyes narrow, "I was brought up with the book from childhood."

Enjolras lifts an eyebrow and speaks harshly. "That explains why you're so boring then."

She gasps. "What, just because I read books, I'm boring now? Well, take a look at yourself, you constantly carry some Robespierre bullshit around with you. How's that for boring?"

They're both sat next to each other, yet they're shouting at each other as though they're in different classrooms. Despite their arguing, Enjolras' arm is still laid across the back of her chair, and she still has her hand on his knee. He has attempted to stop their yelling matches before, but he's learned that it's just easier to wait for it to eventually come to a close before carrying on his lesson as though it never happened.

Enjolras slams a fist down onto the table, and he can see Éponine roll her eyes. "Robespierre is not boring, he is an important figure in the history of France, in fact-"

Éponine yawns loudly, and the shocked look on Enjolras' face almost makes Valjean laugh.

"Éponine, I'm not in the mood to quarrel with you about such trivial matters as to who is the most boring when the answer is obvious."

Éponine turns her head to Montparnasse sat next her, and smirks at him. "'Parnasse, who is more boring: Enjolras or me?"

The man with the perfectly coiffed hair laughs. "That's easy: Enjolras."

"Thanks, babe." Éponine winks at him.

Enjolras glares dangerously at Montparnasse over Éponine's head. "You can stay the fuck out of this, we are not on good terms already."

Combeferre speaks from across the room. "Actually, I think Enjolras is very exciting and interesting. So, by default, Éponine is more boring."

Enjolras laughs at his girlfriend. "Ha, told you!"

Éponine frowns. "Hey, it's still a draw."

Enjolras nods, and looks around the room. "Okay, everyone who believes Éponine to be the most boring, raise your hand."

By this time, Valjean has sat at his desk with his chin in his hand, watching the events unfold. He does, however, count the hands. Seven people. He notes it down on the whiteboard behind him.

Éponine takes over. "Okay, raise your hand if you rightfully believe Enjolras to be the most boring."

The severe look on Enjolras' face as nine people lift their hands is hilarious, and the way he slumps down afterwards makes everybody in the classroom laugh.

Éponine grins at him. "Let this be a lesson to you, Enjolras, never take me on again."

He smiles right back, taking a small piece of her hair in between his fingers and pulling it lightly.

Valjean stands up. "So, it's true, whilst Pride and Prejudice is a lesson on social hierarchy and structure-"

Enjolras' loud voice interrupts him. "Oh, do not get me started on _that_."

Valjean just sits back down and watches the pair yell at each other again.

* * *

He sees them outside of lesson a few hours afterwards, Enjolras leaning on the lockers beside Éponine's. He's grinning at her with a look that Valjean can only describe as love struck. Valjean doesn't stop walking, but he does see Enjolras kiss Éponine on the cheek, and then her shove him away playfully. He doesn't get to see what happens next as he has already passed them, but he smiles anyway when he hears Enjolras shout "hey!" indignantly.

* * *

"It's a hard subject to discuss in consideration to this book, as Austen's view on it seems to change from ridiculing the matter to treating it very seriously, but the idea of reputation in Pride and Prejudice is one that many scholars debate about. In fact-"

He hears a consistently loud ringing noise. The students start talking.

Fire alarm.

He wasn't told there would be a practise today, but it's managed to disrupt his lesson, so he's not sure whether it's a good thing or a bad thing.

"Okay, everyone, you know the rules. Get in a line, leave your bags, leave-"

"I'm not leaving my bag, sir." Grantaire shouts over the noise, much louder than necessary.

"Fine, whatever, just get into a line."

The line is ruptured and many people are stood outside of the line, talking to their friends, but it's a line nonetheless, so he lets them walk out of the door.

He has to wait until they're all out, and he frowns when he sees Enjolras stood alone at the back of the queue. Valjean speaks to him over the noise. "Where is Éponine?"

Enjolras gives a small smile, but he can see sadness lingering in it. "She hasn't come in today, she felt ill this morning." Enjolras is fiddling with his shirt, and Valjean pats him on the shoulder.

"Right, okay. Well, hurry on out then."

The blond man follows his class, and Valjean shuts the door behind him as he follows.

* * *

That day when he sees Enjolras after lesson, the student is talking to somebody on his phone. He only catches a bit of the conversation, because Enjolras is leaning against Éponine's locker with a lost look on his face. Valjean considers stopping and seeing if Enjolras is alright, but he figures the blond man doesn't want to be interrupted.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I know, but... Ép', please, it was an accident... No, that's different."

He carries on walking.

* * *

The next day, they're in his lesson again. Sat in their normal places, his arm flung over her chair, the only difference is that her hand isn't on his knee.

"Today we will be discussing how Pemberley is a symbol of Mr Darcy, and it's important to remember that-"

"Hey, Ép."

It's a whisper, but he still hears it. He carries on anyway. "Pemberley is at the centre of the book geographically, which could infer that Darcy-"

"Éponine, hey."

"What?" Éponine turns to Montparnasse harshly.

Valjean sits down. They didn't even get five minutes into the lesson.

"Are you coming out tonight?"

"Where?" Her voice is still monotone.

"I don't know... Some club, maybe?"

She narrows her eyes at him. "It's a school night."

"Who cares? It's fun."

Enjolras lifts his head. "Actually, Éponine and I already have plans tonight."

"Oh, really?" Montparnasse raises an eyebrow.

"Yes. We are going out with my parents."

Éponine is staring blankly at the table by this point and Valjean frowns. "That sounds really boring. Skip it, come with me, Ép."

Enjolras doesn't say anything, just frowns at the boy.

Valjean carries on with the lesson.

* * *

They're stood at Éponine's locker again when he sees them. Enjolras, leant on the lockers, is staring at Éponine as she speaks to him animatedly. Enjolras laughs, and Éponine grins at him. He is passing them just when Enjolras pulls her closer to him, so he doesn't see what happens when Éponine says "Enjolras, not here".

* * *

Enjolras isn't in school for their next lesson, but his space is filled by the time Valjean walks into the room. Courfeyrac is laughing with Éponine over something on her phone, and Valjean notices how Courfeyrac's gaze lingers on Éponine's face even when she's looking at her phone.

He's taking the register when Éponine shouts to him. "Sir, Enjolras is at an open day today. Something about law."

He nods.

Courfeyrac and Éponine laugh for most of the lesson, mostly because Courfeyrac makes really bad puns for the entire hour. When Montparnasse speaks to Éponine, Courfeyrac joins in the conversation without speaking harshly to the black haired man, and Valjean frowns when he realises how different Éponine is without Enjolras.

* * *

Combeferre is leant on the lockers besides Éponine later that day, and Valjean notices how the tall man is holding Éponine's books for her while she looks for something in her locker. She must find it, because Combeferre says "see, it wasn't that hard, was it?" and she replies "oh, 'Ferre, you have no idea".

* * *

Enjolras returns the next day, and everything is back to normal.

"So, in reality, it's not like Lydia and Mr Wickham are breaking any rules, it's just that era and its views on what was right and what was wrong. Essentially-"

"Hold on, so they have to be married to have sex." Montparnasse asks.

"No, it's just frowned upon for anything like that to happen." Enjolras replies.

"Oh, okay." Montparnasse nods.

Grantaire interrupts. "Enjolras and Eponine would be fucked if they were alive during that era then." People laugh, but Enjolras just glares.

"Shut up, R, it's none of your business."

The curly haired brunette raises an eyebrow. "It kind of is when you do it at _my_ party in _my_ room."

"Will you please stop talking about that?" Enjolras says.

Éponine rolls her eyes. "At least somebody got some at your party, if Enjolras and I hadn't shown up it would have been boring as fuck."

Courfeyrac grins. "Hey, spin the bottle was fun."

Enjolras glares at the man. "Shut the fuck up about that."

Courfeyrac lifts his arms in surrender. "What? It _was_ fun. Just cause you didn't get to kiss any-"

"I think you'll find that I got further than any of you that night, so you can all stop talking about kissing my girlfriend in front of me, alright?"

Éponine looks away, staring at the floor.

"Does that mean we're allowed to talk about it when you're not there?"

Jehan shushes Grantaire, but Enjolras storms out of the classroom anyway. Valjean doesn't dare say anything as he hears the door slam shut.

Combeferre stands up. "I-I'll go and find him."

"No, I'll go." Éponine stands up and walks straight to the door. She closes it gently behind her.

They don't return at all that lesson, and Courfeyrac and Combeferre have to take their bags.

* * *

When he sees them later, it isn't at Éponine's locker. They're sat on a bench outside of school, and he can clearly see tears on Enjolras' face. He can't see Éponine's face from the angle he is walking at, and he can't hear anything they are saying, but he watches Éponine shake her head and Enjolras look away and nod. Valjean is almost at his car by then though, but he does manage to see Éponine kiss Enjolras on the cheek and then leave him on the bench.

* * *

The next Monday, they're sat in their normal seats, except they aren't touching. He assumes that they have either had a serious argument or they have broken up. Either way, everybody is quiet when Valjean walks in the room, and he can see that Éponine is sat on the edge of her seat.

He feels terrible when he realises the lesson plan for today, but it's part of the syllabus, so he can't change it.

"Love is obviously a big part of Pride and Prejudice, and the struggles that most of the characters go through to achieve and accept it are clear. However, it is key that-"

Grantaire interrupts him. "Well, it's not that hard to understand though. Darcy is way too proud to admit that he's in love, it's his own fault that Lizzie is a bit reluctant at first."

"But you could also argue that the way Darcy and Elizabeth eventually accept their mutual love for each other implies that no social hierarchy, that nothing besides the two parties involved can stop their love." Enjolras is leaning forward in his chair when he says this, his eyes passionate as he talks. Enjolras is looking at Valjean as he says this, but even the teacher isn't stupid enough to believe it is aimed at him.

"But at first, social structure _does_ stop them from being together. Darcy is prejudiced about Elizabeth, and thanks to Wickham, Elizabeth has prejudices against him too." Éponine speaks directly to Valjean too, and he suddenly feels as though he is caught between something complicated. He skims his eyes across the rest of the class, and due to the either shocked or amused faces, he understands that they are no longer talking about the book.

"That doesn't matter, because despite everything, it is implied that Darcy loved Elizabeth from the first time he met her, there were just too many things stopping him from believing it." Enjolras is now looking at her.

"Like his aunt?"

"Like his aunt."

Éponine nods. "It doesn't matter. Either way, there were too many social bindings and hierarchies to let their love be publicly shown for the majority of the book. This argument is void because it always comes down to the same conclusion: their own personal virtues and prejudices stop them from being together, which, considering everything, is probably a good thing."

Enjolras doesn't reply, and they don't say anything for the rest of the lesson.

* * *

He doesn't see them that day, and he looks for them on his way to his car, but all he can see is Courfeyrac holding Éponine's bag outside of the school gate, presumably waiting for her.

* * *

They both arrive late for their next lesson, a couple of days after, which is surprising considering they're both usually in their seats about five minutes before Valjean even arrives. They walk in together, him holding the door as she walks in first, and he can hear people mumbling about the pair.

"Where have you been? You're fifteen minutes late." Grantaire says it with amusement laced in his voice, and Valjean sometimes wishes the brunet would leave some questions unasked.

"Nowhere." Éponine answers for them both. Grantaire is about to ask another question, but Valjean starts speaking before he can.

About half an hour later, when the class are supposedly writing an essay plan, a small movement catches his eye. He sees Enjolras grab Éponine's hand, and he watches as Éponine looks at it and smiles a bit. Enjolras lifts her hand to his lips and kisses her knuckles gently, and Valjean looks back at his own work so misses anything else.

* * *

They're at her locker that day, but this time Éponine's locker is closed and they're both just talking. He sees Éponine lean into Enjolras when he puts his arms around her, and he kisses the top of her head when she starts crying. He hears Enjolras say "it's all going to be okay" as he walks past, but the uncertainty in the blond's voice is too evident to miss.

* * *

"Where are Éponine and Enjolras?"

He's taking the register, but the blank faces give him no answer.

He starts the lesson, but Enjolras storms in about five minutes later, slumping down on his chair and letting his bag fall on the floor.

"Woah, calm down, Enjolras." Combeferre speaks sarcastically from beside him.

Enjolras doesn't say anything, just glares at the table in front of him.

Valjean looks around awkwardly. "Enjolras, could you step outside for a minute please?"

The blond man doesn't reply, just storms out of the room, leaving the door open behind him. Valjean follows, not even caring what the other students are talking about.

He finds Enjolras stood against a wall of lockers adjacent to the classroom, so Valjean speaks first. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry. I realise now that I should have not walked in to class like that. If you want to give me detention, go ahead."

"What's wrong, Enjolras? I hope you don't mind me saying, but you've been a lot more... _angrier_ lately."

Enjolras just shrugs.

"Is this about Éponine?" He says it carefully, but he can see Enjolras flinch anyway.

Enjolras nods slightly.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Enjolras stares at a spot on the wall behind Valjean. "Nobody knows."

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I can promise you that, unless the circumstances are extreme, I won't tell anybody." He speaks gently, prepared for any situation that might arise.

"Éponine broke up with me."

"I assumed. Are you alright?"

"But she came to my house the night after and we had sex and she told me that she still loved me and that she was sorry, but she left before I woke up the next morning."

Valjean doesn't say anything, just waits for him to continue. "And now I've just found out that Éponine is pregnant, but she doesn't want to get back together."

Valjean nods. "Oh." He tries to speak as softly as possible. "Is that why you're angry?"

Enjolras nods. "She's in the girl's toilets now 'cause she doesn't want to come to class. We just had a huge argument so she refused to come with me."

"Would you like to go and speak with her? I'll excuse you from class if you'd like."

Enjolras runs a hand through his hair. After a moment of silence, he replies. "Yes, please."

Valjean moves towards the door and watches as Enjolras walks down the hall. He's just about to open the door when he hears Enjolras speak. "Thanks, sir."

And then he's walking around the corner determinedly.

* * *

He sees them against the lockers later that day. Enjolras is smiling as he brushes a wisp of hair behind her ear and she giggles when his hands rest on her hips. He sees them kiss, but then he's already passed them by the time he hears her say 'okay then' with a smile in her voice.

* * *

 _ **I wrote this during a lesson, so that's why it's so rushed and terrible, but inspiration struck and I couldn't stop thinking about it until it was written down. Thanks for reading! Please review! x**_


End file.
